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Saturday, September 29, 2007

I'm Back!

I'm back! Sorry for the extended absence, but I've had to deal with a continental shift (literally and metaphorically!). I am now back in Asia, ready as ever to cover the solar beat in this important market and the rest of the world.

But first, some tidbits about the latest in large scale solar thermal (aka Big Solar) in the US. PG&E, FPL and venture-backed Ausra are all are bullish on Big Solar and getting into the game, particularly in the open desert regions of California, as this article reports. Look, too, at the Green Wombat's September '07 postings, as he covers in more details the projects that the likes of the above and others like BrightSource are looking at in California, the "Saudi Arabia of solar" and Florida, the self-billed (and increasingly fittingly so) "Sunshine State."

In the meantime, U.S.-listed Chinese solar companies--LDK, Yingli and Trina--were busy striking deals and other arrangements over the past week. Its worth noting that solar plays, at least on on the NYSE and Nasdaq, have been doing particularly well over the past month.

the solar coaster operator

Julian Wong is a Fulbright Scholar in Beijing, engaging in independent research on renewable energy policy and entrepreneurship in China. Until recently, Julian Wong was a corporate attorney in New York City and Hong Kong and a sitting member of the Energy Committee of the New York City Bar Association. He obtained a B.A. in Biology from Pomona College, M.A. in Environmental Policy from Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, and J.D. from Duke Law School. He is also author of a blog on green initiatives in China called The Green Leap Forward at www.greenleapforward.com